Colombo, Sri Lanka

March 24^th, Day 78

Colombo, Sri Lanka

We made it across the Bay of Bengal without incident. We did have to turn our clocks back ½ hr though. I guess India time is different by ½ hr. Kind of different when trying to figure out what time it is back home. Sri Lanka is located south east of mainland India and used to be known as Ceylon. We docked in the Capital city of Colombo. Most of the population is Hindu and Buddhist. They were rebuilding the dock area, so it was very difficult to walk into town. This is a very busy seaside capital, and construction seems to be going on everywhere in the city. Exports are timber, crude rubber, machinery, textiles, tea and cinnamon. Elephants are still indigenous to Sri Lanka. There are about 6500 wild elephants in 3 herds located on the other side of the island. Tea is a major export, so we decided to take a tour to a tea plantation which was about an hour drive away. When we got on the bus the first thing the guide told us was, “if you see a truck or bus heading straight at this van, do not be alarmed. Trust me it will not hit us.” With that being said we were in for a memorable ride, and indeed it was. The streets are filled with buses, cars, mopeds, and tuk tuks (small taxi’s with just a bench seat in back) No one follows any traffic rules. The painted traffic lines are just a suggestion, so it’s everyone for himself. The noise from the car horns is deafening, but it’s kind of like “car talk” Honking the horn is an indication of what your intentions are. And everyone seems to know what they are doing. After cringing and bracing myself for a possible hit a few times, we got into the swing of things. Our driver did get a ticket though. Apparently there are places where you simply cannot cross the line. Police are stationed at these spots, and will give the motion to pull over if you violate this rule. Apparently our driver tried bribery, but it didn’t work this time. I was thinking that it could have been because he was transporting possible Americans. Anyway…on to the tea plantation. After we left the city, we entered the beautiful countryside. Palm trees, Banana trees, rice fields with lots of Water Buffalo plowing the fields. The villages we went through were very poor, with terrible living conditions. But everywhere we went they gave us a big smile and a wave. For some reason all the little children are fascinated with Bruce’s mustache. He will curl it up with his fingers, give them a big smile, and they all get a huge laugh out of it. The plantation was located in the mountains so it was a little cooler, maybe 90 or so. Miles and miles of low green bushes growing on terraced hills. They employ about 400 workers, mostly women. The picking is still manual, since they only pick the new leaves of the plant. The daily goal is to pick 20 kilos, and they get paid about $2. The average wage for an office worker in the city is about $250.00 a month. After the tea leaves are picked, they are spread out in a bin and air dried. Then by machinery, they are crushed and roasted, and sorted by color and size. The bigger the leaf the higher the price. It is then packed in bulk ready to send out to auction. A very interesting process. I will never take my tea bag for granted again. We had tea and cake at the manager’s house, and then it was back to the ship. The traffic was even worse so we took the scenic route along the beach. The railroad runs along the beach, but the ocean is mainly used for fishing. Not swimming. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a rich history. From the Portuguese, Dutch and British occupations, to their independence in 1948. Previous to our arrival our ship had several fundraisers to help raise money for a local orphanage. Some of the girls came on board before we set sail to have a nice dinner and sings their native songs to us. They were adorable, and they took with them a $5000. check. On to India.

Tea leaf workers

traffic surrounding a Tuk Tuk